Happy with windy hill

4 to 6 weeks #### I have never been away from home more than 1 to 2 days, all mega carriers are not alike

 

Thats right RickG! I only have to stay out for three weeks but i stay out for 5 to 6 at a time. and yes they do treat me with respect. Sometimes they forget I'm one of the ones that don't wine about the crap i have to do sometimes out there, i just find a way to get it done. if u dont you make no money. a lot of the old guys wine about everything. I'm just happy to be making money. even if it's not even close to what i'm use too.

 

Do they only haul plants and the like? Any recent updates?

 

They haul plants out of Florida and "whatever" into Florida. Mostly paper products, mail, that kinda stuff.

I work there and have been treated okay. The only thing I don't understand about the way they do things is that when you're finished delivering a load and call in to say you're empty, you might sit (at the customer - you're not at liberty to find a truck stop while you wait), for hours waiting for the next load. It's as if they didn't know you'd be empty and didn't plan anything, so you sit and wait while they come up with some last-minute load nearby.

If you can't wait at the customer, you dare not go far to sit, because you get charged for "out of route" miles. I sat for 6 hours a couple of days ago and was out of hours by the time I got a load. Last weekend I sat for three days waiting for one. When I called in after two days to ask, "Well? Got me a load yet?" They acted surprised, as though they didn't know I had been empty all weekend and needed a load.

I get the impression that they simply don't plan ahead; that they just make it up as they go along.

I'm not a seasoned trucker or anything, but dispatching at this job seems much more random and last-minute than was the case when I worked at US Xpress, Swift, and even Cypress. Perhaps it's just the way it's communicated that makes it seem that way, since they rely on the telephone rather than the sat-com (Qualcomm), and there's no one in the office at night.

 

Robin, Just curious, Donna came by the school a few weeks ago and said you get drop pay for the plants? How many drops are on a typical load when leaving Florida and are they a good company to start out with? Any info would be greatly appreciated, plan on putting in app next week.

 

Most of the plant loads out of Florida have multiple stops. The first is "free," but every stop after the first pays $25. My last one had 18 stops. Ch-CHINNNNNG! Most have around a dozen or so.

BUT:

When you leave Florida with a plant load and finish delivering it, you likely won't get another until you've been out for your 3-4 weeks and take your home time. So don't count on alot of those high-paying plant loads. Your first out of Florida may be a plant load, but you'll run random stuff in the South and Midwest until they can get you something headed back home. One paycheck in 3 or 4 will be fatter than the rest because of the plant load leaving Florida.

They DO hire rookies out of school, and unlike most of the big companies that take recent school grads, they have insurance premiums that are actually sanely priced, and they contribute to your optional 401K. As a new graduate you'll train for a few weeks (6 I think, but don't quote me) and should be familiar with their procedures by the time you're ready to go solo. Those of us coming to Windy Hill with experience in driving but not in their procedures are actually at a disadvantage in some respects, since they don't really explain stuff until you ask, and you don't know what to ask until it comes up while you're on the road.

I'd definitely go with them over any of the big companies that hire recent graduates.

 

This company sounds like a joke. $ 23,000? Charged for out of route? Why do people work for these crappy companies? I am not a big Crete fan, but they hire out of Florida, start at around .40 a mile for practical miles, and you don't have to lump freight like a monkey. Look around guys. There are better jobs out there. If people stopped working for these ###### companies, they would have to improve or go out of business.

 

Anyone have any updates/new info on Windy Hill? Did they just get new 10 speed manuals or more autos? Anyone getting hometime every 10-14 days or is it more like 5-6 weeks?

 

What more info do you need? They pay crap, keep you out over Christmas, and make you sit a lot. That should be enough info.

 

I don't get it either, for what I have researched this does not sound good. and 4 + weeks on the truck there are people who have posted first year incomes of 40+/- at W+S, SNI, Roehl, FFE, Swift, Prime during these years of recession... look it up!!! BUSTING THEIR BACKS (but it can be done). Respect is written in the paycheck and with policies, who cares if someone says "Pretty please stay in the parking lot without a bathroom, food or water until we get our act together sweet heart -- FOR FREE -- we loooooooveeee yoouuu Mr. Trucker Bubby!!!!" I lived in Florida, it was NOT cheap to live there --> 23K even after taxes = ouch! Don't mean to put you down, but to make you mad so you take stock of the VALUE your clean CDL really has!
I am a big LIAR look it up! USE the search button! Prove me wrong!!!